Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Mobilization Records
Tracklist:
01. Trudge
02. Trek
03. Siege
04. Assembly
05. Valetta
06. Andelusia
07. Walking Backwards
08. 1000 Days
09. Mediterranea
10. Dionysius
11. Ceremonial
12. Year Of Exile
13. Land Of Delusion
Credits:
Bass, Trombone, Keyboards, Voice – Thom Fuhrmann
Drums, Percussion, Bongos, Voice – Mark Erskine
Guitar, Bass, Dulcimer, Voice – Greg Grunke
Guitar, Percussion, Horn, Voice – Ethan Port
Keyboards, Guitar, Mandolin, Percussion – Robert Loveless
Mixed By, Guitar, Bass, Percussion, Voice – Bruce Licher
Both the 1985 Ceremonial LP and the 1985 Trudge EP are combined onto one CD on this reissue, which despite the title actually puts the tracks on Trudge before the ones from Ceremonial. Ceremonial is their most accomplished and accessible work, largely jettisoning the harsher scrapings of the early records for expansive instrumentals featuring chiming guitars and occasional touches of ethereal trombone. Aiming for (and sometimes achieving) a hypnotic drone, at their best these have a melancholy beauty, bringing raga rock into the post-punk age. The title track, unusually, features a female vocal from guest singer Louise Bialik, as well as (relatively) conventional lyrics. Trudge, originally released as a four-song, import-only 12", contains instrumentals from the mid-'80s. These are fully realized works, not just odds and ends; in fact, if they had been added to the Ceremonial album, they would have fit in pretty well, and maybe even counted among the stronger tracks.
Richie Unterberger / AllMusic
